The Police Chief said a hard border no-deal Brexit could become a "trigger and fueling point" for more people to join extremist groups. Byrne' comments came the day after a "paramilitary-style" shooting took place in Belfast and two men were arrested over an attempted bomb attack on PSNI officers in Fermanagh. Also on Monday night, a man in his 50s with loyalist links was murdered in his car.

Byrne told the BBC Radio 4 Today program “If we get [the Brexit deadline] wrong we could drift back to almost a paramilitary style of policing.”

He also commented on the political vacuum in Northern Ireland where the power-sharing government at Stormont collapsed in Jan 2017. Byrne said this has led to an increase in uncertainty and has become a "breeding ground for dissident hate”.

Byrne also expressed his concerns over the “tempo and pace” of recent dissident republican attacks.

Shooting in Belfast

On Wednesday evening a man in his 40s was shot in both legs in what PSNI are calling "paramilitary-style” shooting. The attack took place in the Ardoyne, a mainly Catholic and Irish nationalist district in north Belfast. The victim is being treated in hospital. His condition is described as stable.

Local Sinn Fein politician Gerry Kelly said no organization had claimed responsibility for the attack.

“The community does not support such actions and it needs to stop. There is no place for guns on our streets.

People Before Profit councilor Fiona Ferguson said: "Those who wield the 'punishment' guns in our area do not wield the support of the community."

Loyalist murdered in Down

On Monday evening Malcolm McKeown (54), a career criminal with loyalist paramilitary links was shot six times, in broad daylight, while sitting in his BMW, at a service station in Waringstown, County Down.

Continuity IRA / New IRA

TheJournal.ie reports that the Gardai (Irish police) and PSNI have been working together to solve the recent crimes. They believe the Fermanagh attack was carried out by a "splinter of a splinter of a splinter group", part of the Continuity IRA or the New IRA. They do however agree that this small group has the capacity to cause serious harm.

Byrne told the BBC that a previously dormant dissident republican group, the Continuity IRA, had come back to the fore and "are clearly intent on murdering one of my officers”.

Do you believe a no-deal Brexit and hard border could see a return of The Troubles in Northern Ireland? Let us know in the comments section below.